


The start.

by lovely_dreamer



Series: Mini Archer [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Protective Natasha Romanov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-19 23:09:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14247771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovely_dreamer/pseuds/lovely_dreamer
Summary: How Clint became a single parent... And how Natasha was there for him.This is part of the Mini Archer series. You should probably read the other works in the series to understand this.





	The start.

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the second one- shot. Hope you like it!

Nat was on a mission with Coulson when she got a call from Clint. She smiled when she saw the caller ID.

“Hey there stranger, how’s my favorite niece doing?” Nat asked. She had been over the moon when Ally was born six weeks ago.

“Nat, Carol left,” Clint said. Nat stopped dead in her tracks.

“What do you mean she left?” She asked

“She packed up all of her stuff and left. It’s just me and the baby,” Clint said.

“I’ll be there in ten hours,” Nat said and hung up before Clint could say anything else.

Clint walked around his house noticing all the things that were no longer there. If he was being honest, he was glad Carol was gone. She was the type of person that was never happy. When she looked Clint in the face and told him she didn’t want Ally anymore, he knew it was time for her to go.

Clint heard a cry from the baby monitor and ran up the stairs. Ally was in her crib. It was 2 am, so it made sense that she would be awake at this hour. Clint was convinced that Ally thought it was her job to make sure he never slept.

“Hey, baby girl,” he said as he picked her up. He walked down to the kitchen and sat her in her rocker.

“You hungry, baby? Let me get you a bottle,” Clint said as he warmed one up. Carol never wanted to breastfeed Ally, so she was used to bottles. He went and picked Ally up and sat on the couch. He cradled her while she ate.

“It’s just you and me now, Ally,” he said to her. She grabbed onto his finger with her fist and Clint thought there was nothing on earth better than this.

“I promise, I will never leave you. You will always have your daddy,” Clint said.

“Nat is coming home soon. Maybe we can convince her to stay here for a little bit. What do you think?” He asked a now sleeping Ally.

“Yeah, I think that too.”

\-----

When Nat pulled up to Clint's house, she saw him sitting on the porch. She walked over to him and without saying a word, enveloped him in a hug.

“I’m so glad you’re home, Tash,” he said

“Yeah, I was thinking of staying a while. Got a room to spare?” She asked, knowing he had more than enough room. He laughed a little.

“I think we can make things work. Wanna go see her?” He asked as he led her to the living room. A bassinet was set up and inside was a very tiny baby. When she saw her dad she started to cry.

“Yep, that’s my cue,” Clint said as he went to pick her up. Nat stopped him and went to pick up Ally instead. She had never held a baby before Ally, but it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

“Shhh, I’m here baby girl. Tasha’s got you.” she soothed Ally. The three of them settled on the couch. It hadn’t taken long for Ally to fall asleep on Nat’s chest.

“You wanna tell me what happened?” Nat asked

“She said she didn’t want Ally,” he said. That made Nat want to break something. Nat could never have kids and now this woman just wanted to leave hers?

“Well, then good riddance. She doesn’t deserve Ally… Or you,” Nat said. 

“I just don’t understand how she could walk away so easily. And if she tries to come back, I’m not letting her,” Clint said.

“I think that would be best for Ally. She needs stability. People who love her and will never abandon her. She has that with you,” she said

“Shit Tash, how am I supposed to raise a little girl on my own?” Clint asked rubbing his hands over his face.

“You aren’t alone. We can do this. Just take it a day at a time. You’re a good dad Clint,” she said and he offered a small smile.

\----

Nat stayed at the farm for the next few weeks, helping with the baby. It was very different from most missions, but they had each other, so they knew they would be ok. 

One night, Clint was woken from his sleep to Ally crying. He moaned a little and then dragged himself out of bed. He heard Nat walk from her room to Ally’s and he smiled a little. He loved seeing Nat with Ally, it just felt right.

Walking into the nursery, Clint saw something that would be etched into his memory forever. Nat was sitting in the rocking chair, holding Ally. She was singing a lullaby softly while rubbing small circles on her back.

“Clint, you’re starring,” she said

“Can’t help it, my best friend is singing to my baby at 4 in the morning. Not something you see every day,” Clint said as he leaned against the doorframe. Natasha took a deep breath.

“Fury called... I have to go, Clint,” Nat said. Clint nodded sadly.

“I don’t know if I’m strong enough to leave her,” she said with her voice cracking. This was the first time he ever saw Nat cry. He walked over to her and knelt down in front of her.

“Tasha, we aren’t going anywhere. When you’re done with this mission, just come home again. You aren’t leaving her for good,” Clint reassured her.

“I know, I just, I don’t know,” She let out a watery laugh.

They didn’t go back to sleep that night. Nat spent the rest of her time at the farm holding Ally. Leaving the farm that day was one of the hardest things Natasha ever had to do. Letting her go was one of the hardest things Clint ever had to do.

\----

They didn’t see Natasha again for almost ten months. Clint was putting up the Christmas tree while Ally sat in her playpen when the doorbell rang. Clint wasn’t expecting anyone, he furrowed his eyebrows and walked to the door. When he opened it, he was frozen in shock.

“Hey stranger,” Nat said. Clint pulled her into a hug and didn’t let her go for what felt like forever.

“Where the hell have you been?” Clint asked.

“Believe it or not, Fury had the balls to send me back to Budapest,” she said with a laugh. Clint pulled away from her and shook his head. He took her hand and led her to the living room.

“I think there is someone you want to see,” Clint said. When Nat saw Ally standing in the crib, gripping the side to hold herself up, she couldn’t help the tears that flowed from her eyes. She quickly went and picked her up.

“My baby girl, you’re so big now,” she said. Ally made noises at her and Nats eyes went wide. She looked at Clint and he smirked.

“That’s her way of talking. She also likes to sing, although she isn’t very good at it,” Clint explained. And Ally babbled some more.

“So, you came at the perfect time,” Clint said

“And why’s that?” She asked and Clint looked at her like she had three heads.

“Do you know what today is?” He asked and she furrowed her brow and shook her head.

“Dude, it’s Christmas Eve! Hence, the Christmas tree!” He motioned to the bare tree sting in the corner of the room. Nat couldn’t believe she forgot about Christmas.

“Do you wanna help decorate it?” Clint asked

“I’ve never had a Christmas tree before, I don’t know how,” she said sadly

“Well lucky for you, I was just about to teach Ally how to decorate a Christmas tree. Here, first, we do the lights,” he said as he began wrapping the tree with lights.

They spent the rest of the day decorating the tree and baking cookies. Clint had so many Christmas traditions that he wanted to share with his girls. They made a huge dinner even though it was only the three of them and Ally couldn’t eat anything but her ‘baby mush’ as Clint called it. Ally couldn’t get enough of Natasha. Every time she walked away from her, she would begin to babble loudly to get her attention.

“Here, watch this,” he said as he turned on the radio. They were in the kitchen, so Ally was in her high chair, but the minute the music began to play, she began to wiggle.

Nat picked her up and put her on the floor, holding her hands to help her balance. She began to do her version of ‘dancing’ which was really just her bouncing up and down while laughing a loud belly laugh. Clint took out his camera and snapped a picture.

\----

Christmas morning was one the most magical things Natasha had ever experienced. Clint had even gotten her presents.

“You didn’t even know that I would be here.” She said

“I had faith.” He answered simply. 

After all the presents were opened, Clint got down on the floor with Ally and began to play with her. She was currently stacking the jumbo legos she had gotten from ‘santa’. Natasha watched her partner with pure joy. She grabbed the camera and took a picture. Ally was in mid-laugh and Clint was giggling as well. 

They didn’t know it at the time, but that picture would become a family favorite for years to come.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments!


End file.
